I Got A New Tattoo!

Hello everyone! 

I am now going to start greeting you at the beginning of every post because it just feels really weird that I don't. I only never did because after looking at other bloggers most of them don't greet their readers or talk to them on a one-on-one bases, so I thought was the thing to do, but now I am saying screw it! We are all friends here so I am going to treat you like a friend.

So how is everyone doing? OK? Great? Bad? If that is the case I hope you feel better soon! I am doing fairly well for someone who just had all four of there wisdom teeth removed yesterday (Friday). However, that is not what I am here to talk about, today I am going to tell you all about my newest tattoo I got about a month ago. If you watch my youtube videos or follow me on any social media website (which you can now follow me on Bloglovin by clicking here) then you may know that I took my last trip to Stockholm, Sweden before I move there in the next year, depends on if there government allows me, still waiting for the paper work to go through. Anyways (get back on track Makenna!), I was in Stockholm for two weeks before I had to go back to school and on the last week I got a new tattoo. I did know before traveling that I wanted to get my second tattoo done while I was there to make it even more meaning full, it will make more since after I explain what it is. (If you are interested in reading about my first tattoo then you can click here to be taken to that post.) The first week I went in Stockholm Classic Tattoos and asked them if I could get the three Swedish Crowns on my right pointer finger. This is what they look like if you didn't know, two crowns centered above one crown under them:

The tattoo artist who's name I don't remember at the moment told me that the crowns would not fit and at the most he could only do one crown. This was the second time I was turned down for this tattoo and was a bit pissed about it. The first was because I wasn't heavily tattooed, and then now this. "Well thats just great, I am never going to get this tattoo" I thought, but there was another design I had been thinking about getting. I had not though about it as long as I had about the crowns, but there was one reason shouting out in the back of my mind that just wouldn't let me say no. I was turned down when I walked in to get my first tattoo, which was supposed to be the crowns and ended up with the one I have now. As I stood in the shop arguing with myself weather or not to even get a tattoo after my idea had been turned down I made the rash decision to do so, and I pick one the one I have now, even though I had only though about getting it for about a month. For me when I make rash decisions like that they always have turned out to be the best decisions I make, so I did it again. 

For a second time I was standing in a tattoo shop with a rejected idea, so I picked my next best one. My second tattoo is three birds sitting on a tree branch, but not just any branch, the branch of my family on my family tree. Two of the  birds are larger, and are on either side of the small third bird. This is supposed to represent me with each parent on one side of me. The branch is also just as important; it has 10 leaves on two separated arms extending from the branch. There are 6 leaves on one and 4 on the other. The 6 stand for one person each in my immediate family: my grandmother (MawMaw), grandfather (PawPaw), uncle (David), aunt (Tammy), cousin (Sam), and my sister (Breanna). The 4 leave represent the pets that have been most important in my life: Zana, Noella, Sadie, and Dexter. Zana and Noella have both passed, Noella just this past Auguest while I was on my trip. She is the reason I got the leaves, at first I wanted the branch to be naked because my favorite time of year is fall/winter, but that all changed when I got the email about here passing. 

I spent a lot of time going back and forth between two different places on my body: my forearm right beneath the bend in my arm or on my back under my shoulder blade, but towards my side/rib area a bit more. I chose my forearm because I wanted to be able to see my family everyday, since I will be moving over 5000 miles away from home, I want to know that my family is always there no matter where I am. It is not just a symbol for me, but them as well. That I am not forgetting about them or trading them in for a new family, but that my life is taking me on the path less traveled by and I will never forget them or stop loving them.  

Here is a picture of the fantastic artist tattooing me: 

The whole process took less time than I thought it would. It took about a total of 40-45 minutes from the time I walked in to the door and out again. The tattoo part took only about 30 minutes compared to an hour and half to two hours for my first tattoo. My very lovely friend Nellie, who not only took time out of her day to take me to the shop, filmed/took photos the whole time. So now you can not only read about my experience, but you can also see it from start to finish if you would like. If not then you can skip the video and keep reading. 

It did hurt, but not as much as my foot. One thing that was different was I bled a lot more than my first tattoo not just during, but even after I was done and went home. This tattoo also hurt for a few days after, which was something I didn't experience the first time or even this time when I touched it up. It felt like my arm had been dangling off the bumper of a car and skid on the asphalt for a few miles. I could not unbend my arm due to the pain, and when the scabs grew I couldn't unbend my arm do to the fear of them ripping off. As gross as that sounds it is true; when you bend and unbend your arm your skin stretches and pulls, so when you have skin still healing it is not good to move it as much. The good news was I only had to deal with one week of discomfort before it healed, while even today my foot is still on its last leg of healing. This tattoo did also cost more ($220) than my first ($100), but it was well worth it. I am very happy with the final result and love it every more each day. Even my family has given me their blessing. I told no one in my family that I had got a new tattoo, nor that it was front and center on my arm. My mom was the first to know. I showed her in the car on our way home from the airport, although she wasn't to happy she understood why it was so important to me as have my other family members. I never really got the "your never going to get a job again!" lecture, until I brought it up with my grandparents. Lucky for me the industry I want to work in doesn't really care what ink you have on your skin, but the ink you can put on a page. I am 100% happy with my tattoo and love to show it off whenever I get the chance, which is a lot around here in Houston since it is STILL 90 something degrees everyday! Anyways, as much as I don't want to say it I must: this is probably going to be my last tattoo *awwws and booos*. I know, but I made a deal with Daniel that I would only get two since not only do I have to live with them the rest of my life, but so does he. This is what you do in relationships my friends, and it is called compromise. I do not hold anything against him for it either, I completely understand where he comes from and how much he had to give to be ok with the two I have now. 

Now the moment you have all been waiting for while I droned on, the final product! (without the redness of course)  

While I was there I also got my first tattoo fixed. As you may have read in my blog post about the first letter of the quote being not up to par. It was nothing that was done by the artist, but by my body: the ink was rejected on the bottom of the "L".  Here are before and after photos:
Before:

After: 

I would like to thank you so much for reading and watching, whether it is one person or a thousand it means the world to me. Thanks again and I will talk to you all again soon! 

xoxo, Gossip Girl 

Just Kidding! I just had to. I really do mean everything that I said though and if you have made it this far then THANK YOU so much again!! I know my post are long and I am sorry, but I can write what I feel/think better then I can speak them out loud. 

Talk to you soon,    

Makenna